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New Tough Mudder course to include tear gas in 2015

Tough Mudder is thought by many to be a fun, adrenaline-inducing alternative to a 10K or half marathon. The addition of obstacles makes the notion of running long distances seem much more tolerable to many of those not keen on doing the same repetitive motion for several miles.

But in recent years, the popular adventure race company has added several hellacious obstacles, including an electric shock army crawl obstacle and something called an “Artic Enema.” But the company’s latest addition to the course will literally make you cry.

A Mudder’s moments of misery—immersion in ice water; exposure to electric shocks and, in a special torment unveiled for us at Vail Lake, tear gas—are intense, but brief. Of course, the knowledge that they’re out there on the course, lying in wait, tends to prey on one’s mind.

… just the burning sensation in our eyes, and the feeling of having Sriracha poured into every one of our tiny cuts and abrasions, was a result of crawling through Cry Baby, a tent filled with what the organizers referred to as “tear gas.” (Full disclosure: While it certainly stings, the active ingredient in this concoction is more benign than the one in real tear gas.)

what type of person would subject themselves to “tear gas” in the name of physical activity?